Daily news | Books+Publishing

Inside the Australian and New Zealand book industry

Tuesday, 31 March 2026
The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has announced the shortlist for the 2026 CBCA Book of the Year Awards. The shortlisted books in each category, selected from the 2026 Notable...

Create NSW launches affordable residencies program for writers, illustrators

Tuesday, 31 March 2026
Create NSW has announced the establishment of the Rocks Creative Terraces Affordable Residencies Program, which it says “fulfils one of the first commitments outlined in Stories Matter: A Writing and...

Queensland Literary Awards moves to BWF for “foreseeable future”

Tuesday, 31 March 2026
The Queensland Literary Awards (QLAs) will become part of the 2026 Brisbane Writers Festival (BWF), with a BWF spokesperson confirming to Books+Publishing that BWF would be administering the awards "for...

Newcastle Poetry Prize 2026 winners announced

Tuesday, 31 March 2026
The Hunter Writers’ Centre has announced the winners of the 2026 Newcastle Poetry Prize. The winners in each category are: First place ($15,000) Greg McLaren for “Late Sonnets” Second place ($3000)...

Nigerian publisher Masobe Books acquires 5 books by Bacon

Tuesday, 31 March 2026
Othuke Ominiabohs, founder and publisher of Masobe Books, has acquired Nigerian rights for five books by African-Australian author Eugen Bacon, in a deal brokered in partnership with Bacon’s US publisher...

Upswell acquires Nowra’s “My Grandfather’s Ghost”

Tuesday, 31 March 2026
Upswell Publishing has acquired world rights to My Grandfather’s Ghost, a narrative nonfiction title by Louis Nowra, via Natalie Stewart, HLA Management. Describing My Grandfather’s Ghost, Nowra said, “On 12...

“A strong year” locally as PRH global earnings down 4.7%

Monday, 30 March 2026
While global revenue at Penguin Random House in 2025 rose 1.3% to €4.981 billion (A$8.34 billion), earnings were down 4.7% to €704 million (around A$1.18 billion). PRH parent company Bertelsmann...

S&S acquires Rogers’s “The Damned”

Monday, 30 March 2026
Simon & Schuster Australia (S&S) has acquired The Damned by Matt Rogers. Described as a “heart-pounding new thriller”, The Damned follows the author’s 2025 thriller The Forsaken and again features ex-assassin Logan...

Newcastle Writers Festival kicks off tomorrow

Thursday, 26 March 2026
Newcastle Writers Festival (NWF) runs from 27 to 29 March, with an opening night event featuring London-based Australian author Kathy Lette, who will reflect on “her writing career, resilience, and...

ABA 2026 conference program announced

Thursday, 26 March 2026
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has released the program for its 2026 conference, to run from 13 to 15 June at in Canberra at the QT hotel (pictured). Sessions at...

APA, Melb Uni launch second Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion

Thursday, 26 March 2026
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has launched its second Australian Publishing Industry Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion, in partnership with the University of Melbourne. The survey, which is open...

Bakers Lane acquires Jones’s “Swimming Backwards”

Thursday, 26 March 2026
Bakers Lane Books has acquired world rights to the novel Swimming Backwards by Helen Jones. Swimming Backwards, which was shortlisted for the publisher’s inaugural Fearless Prize, tells the story of grieving...

Thom wins 2025 Judith Wright Poetry Prize

Tuesday, 24 March 2026
Overland has announced Mia Thom as the winner of the 2025 Judith Wright Poetry Prize, worth $6000, for their poem “go raging”. Thom’s poem, chosen from a shortlist of 8, will...

Campos wins inaugural Kat Muscat Award

Tuesday, 24 March 2026
The inaugural winner of the $1000 Kat Muscat Award is Paula Campos for “Palm Trees, Piercings and a More Lowkey, Chill Place to Live”, which appeared in Voiceworks #136 “Quits!”. This year, the...

“Wild Dark Shore” wins Book of the Year at 2026 Indie Book Awards

Tuesday, 24 March 2026
Australian independent booksellers have announced the winners of the 2026 Indie Book Awards, with Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore (Penguin) named Book of the Year. The winners in each category...

A&U acquires Jeff Apter’s “Reckless”

Tuesday, 24 March 2026
Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to the nonfiction title Reckless by music writer Jeff Apter. Reckless is the inside story of Australian Crawl, the band behind tracks...

Australian Book Design Awards 2026 shortlists announced

Monday, 23 March 2026
The shortlists for the 2026 Australian Book Design Awards, presented by the Australian Book Designers Association (ABDA), have been announced. Shortlisted works in each category are: Best designed general fiction...

Kinokuniya to open Chatswood store

Monday, 23 March 2026
Japanese book retailer Books Kinokuniya will open a new bookstore in Westfield Chatswood Shopping Centre in Chatswood, New South Wales. Books Kinokuniya is the largest bookstore chain in Japan, with...

Woldeyes awarded new travel fellowship

Monday, 23 March 2026
Poet and storyteller Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes will appear at national and international writers festivals this year as the recipient of a new travel fellowship supported by the Barton Family Foundation. The...

NZSA announces mentorship program recipients

Monday, 23 March 2026
New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (NZSA) has announced the recipients of its 2026 mentorship program. The mentees are: Vivienne Bailey (Paraparaumu) Cassandra Barnett (Waikato) Angela Barnett (Tāmaki Makaurau...